Flowerpot is a freelance journalist, author and walker who lives in Cornwall. My first book of walks, Discover Cornwall, was published by Sigma Press July 2012. Circular Walks with Cornish Writers was published in August 2015 and Walks in the Footsteps of Poldark was published in July 2016.

Tuesday, 21 January 2014

The best made plans

Oh to be on the water... happy days. We will go boating again!

Whenever I’m worried, I walk. It doesn’t make the anxiety go away, but I am too restless to stay still. Right now, as you can imagine, Moll and I are walking miles – ironically, I don’t think I’ve ever felt fitter. So while it doesn’t help me put on the weight I lost, it does keep me sane.

Isn’t it strange how the one time I made plans, it looks like they're not going to happen. For instance,

We were going to have a weekend away in January.
Postponed due to illness.

I was going to have a weekend away in February with Av in Shaldon.
Again – on hold due to hospital date TBC.

I was going to have a week’s holiday in March.
Again – on hold due to hospital date.

On the other hand, I’m telling myself, it doesn’t mean that these won’t happen, just not now.

On the plus side, dear Al (of the wonderful Dragon boat Snap) came down for a few days and on Monday took me for lunch at the Gylly café in Falmouth. He’s a tactile fellow so it was lovely to have some hugs and he always makes me feel special – both of which are much needed. It was wonderfully sunny so we sat outside with Moll and put the world to rights. What a lovely fellow he is. Topics of conversation included sailing (of course), racing, Snap, illness, depression, emotional blackmail, his ex wife, his current wife, etc - in other words, we covered everything.

That evening we met photographer Sally and her partner in Beerwolf, a wonderful place that is a bookshop/bar/pub and I found a Collected Works of John Betjeman for £5. I snapped it up, thinking that if I’m going to be incapacitated for a while I’d better start planning what I’m going to do or I fear for my sanity.

My new computer has finally arrived and Andy’s coming to set it up for me next week. This one is so slow it’s driving me mad…..

I had a lift to Paul’s party last Saturday with someone I don’t know very well. She’s travelled a lot in the past but now has a Proper Job and her husband has just retired as a headmaster. At one point in the evening she leant over and whispered, “This is the sort of music to listen to when you’re stoned.”

I grinned, surprised, as this didn’t fit with the idea I had of her. But having talked more to her, I love her approach to life. She's spontaneous, not afraid to take risks and was the first to offer help while I'm off work.

Looks like you'll have a lot of holidays to catch up on once that surgery is behind you, Sue. Maybe that's not a bad thing to focus on.I loved both those articles in Cornwall Today, by the way. Two very inspiring pieces. Rx

Walks in the Footsteps of Cornish Writers

Discover Cornwall

Order both books now!

Reviews

"Sue’s clear yet engaging writing style, the evocative descriptions and photographs mean Discover Cornwall will appeal not only to walkers but to readers as well. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, not only because it make me want to rush out and try some new walks, but because I realised it would make the perfect gift for the many people I know who enjoy walking in Cornwall."

About Me

I am a freelance journalist with a Diploma with Distinction for Freelance and Feature Writing from the London School of Journalism. I have been a regular contributor to Cornwall Today (Regional Magazine of the Year, 2009) since 2008 writing regular walks, features, antique pieces, health, business and humour. I have also written for Nursing Standard, write regular author interviews for Writers' Forum, including Bill Bryson, Ian Rankin, John O'Farrell and Patrick Gale. In addition I have written several novels, one of which is being read by an agent as I write.
My first book of Cornish walks is published by Sigma in June 2012, with another book planned for 2013.
I am also a seaside landlady, getting used to life without my lovely husband who died at the end of 2010. I live in Cornwall with my scruffy canine Mollie and a bruiser of a tom cat, Buster.